How to Buy Taxidermy

Look around.

The major perk of living in this golden age for taxidermy is that it’s never hard to (legally) acquire an exciting new piece. There are still the estate sales, antique shops, and hunting hangouts that animal-oriented decorators have prowled for decades, but there are also an increasing number of high-end curiosity shops specializing in exotic fare and online forums, like Taxidermy.net, where buyers posting “mount wanted” ads receive responses from around the world.

“Let’s say you’ve got this humungous place up in the Rockies with 20-foot ceilings, and you want a big elk mount because you think it’ll look really cool in your living room,” says taxidermist Paul Rhymer. “Well, that’s out there.”

If all else fails, nonhunters are more than welcome to go to a taxidermist and request a custom piece. “I had a woman who wanted a full-size zebra for her husband’s office,” Rhymer tells us. “They were nonhunters, but his office had this black-and-white decor. I went online and found a guy who had the zebra skin and took it up there. Perfectly fine, perfectly legal.”